Starvation

For the ninth straight month, Earth has obliterated global heat records — with February, the winter as a whole and the world's oceans setting new high-temperature marks, according to the European Union climate agency Copernicus.The latest record-breaking in this climate change-fuelled global hot streak includes sea surface temperatures that weren't just the hottest for February, but eclipsed any month on record, soaring past August 2023's mark and still rising at the end of the month.And February, as well the previous two…

Breast cancer cells (in blue) eating extracellular matrix (yellow). The bright white spots inside the cells are extracellular matrix components that are being digested by the cells, for them to obtain nutrients to support their growth. Credit: Montserrat Llanses MartinezA recent study has discovered that breast cancer cells facing a lack of energy resort to ingesting and consuming their surroundings to overcome starvation.The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Sheffield and published in the journal…

Polar bear from the Western Hudson Bay region. Credit: David McGeachyMore time stranded on land means greater risk of starvation for polar bears, a new study indicates.During three summer weeks, 20 polar bears closely observed by scientists tried different strategies to maintain energy reserves, including resting, scavenging, and foraging. Yet nearly all of them lost weight rapidly: on average around 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, per day.Ineffective Adaptation StrategiesSome have speculated that polar bears might adapt to…

A macroscopic image of Neurospora crassa. Credit: Szöke et al.Researchers demonstrate that the circadian clock aids cells in preserving and recovering their normal function during and after extended periods of starvation.According to a study recently published in eLife, cells with a functioning molecular clock are more capable of adapting to fluctuations in glucose supply and recover quicker from prolonged starvation.The finding sheds light on why disruptions to the body’s circadian rhythms, such as night shift work and…

It seems the Huns may not have been the cut-throat barbarians who had an "infinite thirst for gold", as suggested by some classical historians.A new study reconstructing climate data from tree rings suggests these semi-nomadic people were compelled to raid and invade the eastern Roman provinces because of sheer hunger.According to the natural archive recorded in the growth lines of oak trees from the Czech Republic and Bavaria, the early fifth century on Great Hungarian plain was marked by a series of very dry…